


found family

by clericbyers (starkreactor)



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: F/M, Hopper POV, M/M, canon typical cursing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-10
Updated: 2019-08-10
Packaged: 2020-08-14 04:43:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,508
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20186464
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starkreactor/pseuds/clericbyers
Summary: Hopper cradled Joyce’s sobbing face in his hands and wiped her fast-flowing tears with gentle thumbs as he smiled down at her. She was covered in dust and dirt with blood dripping from a scratch above her eyebrow but she was alive and safe and Hopper couldn’t ask for anything more.[ in which Hopper lives and joins the Byers family ]





	found family

**Author's Note:**

> I’ve been accepting and writing prompts on Tumblr and [this one ask](https://wheelyers.tumblr.com/post/186893215309/can-you-imagine-hoppers-face-when-hes-back-and) was so good...anyway I like it a lot and might add more to this AU over time so I decided to post it here, too!

Hopper cradled Joyce’s sobbing face in his hands and wiped her fast-flowing tears with gentle thumbs as he smiled down at her. She was covered in dust and dirt with blood dripping from a scratch above her eyebrow but she was alive and safe and Hopper couldn’t ask for anything more.

“_Hopper_,” she choked out desperately, “Jim, I thought I lost you forever.”

“You could never lose me, Joyce. Finding my way back to you is kinda what I do.”

She laughed and choked on a sob and he pulled her into his chest for a warm hug. He rocked her gently, leaning down to kiss the top of her head as he took in the moment and the reality of the woman he loves being alive. At the sound of a branch cracking, Joyce and Hopper pulled away, Joyce with her hands raised to punch and Hopper reaching back for his gun. They thought they had cleared this area of evil scientists, but the battle wasn’t over yet.

Instead of being greeted by the enemy, Will, Mike, and Dustin came tumbling through the trees gasping for breath. They halted when they saw Hopper and Joyce, who ran straight to her son and pulled him into her arms. Hopper smiled softly at the scene before turning back to Mike and Dustin. Mike was watching the Byers hug with an softness in his face Hopper only remembered seeing once before early on when Mike and El started dating. Dustin was smirking and he nudged Mike, who blinked his way out of his stupor and sent his friend a glare before realizing Hopper was still there.

“Chief,” the brat said haughtily, “it’s nice to see you alive.”

“Likewise, Michael.”

“I’d love to stay and chat but we need to go get El and find the others before Brenner can start unleashing more monsters.” Dustin tugged on Mike’s arm and pulled him toward Will. “Will, are you good to use your electricity stuff? Lucas said he found the power box outside and Mike and I can grab El while you do your thing.”

Will, who was holding his mom somewhat protectively but let her go at Dustin’s words, nodded. “Yeah, I got it. I can do it.”

“Will,” started Mike carefully, “don’t hurt yourself. We can’t lose you again.”

Hopper watched Will’s face melt into something even more gentle than what he had when he hugged his mom. “I’ll be fine, Mike. Trust me.”

“I do, always.”

Will smiled and squeezed Mike’s arm before turning to give Hopper a nod of recognition. The kid was running out east a second later and Mike turned to Joyce. “We’ll be back and meet up at your old place, yeah? We’re almost done with this shit for good.”

Joyce pulled Mike into a surprise hug and murmured something Hopper didn’t quite catch but it made Mike’s cheeks pink so he assumed she was probably thanking the boy for taking care of Will. Dustin and Mike soon made their way north and left Joyce and Hopper on their own.

The rest of the night went by in a blur but Hopper didn’t think he’d ever be able to forget seeing Will and El with linked hands and one hand each pointed out toward the Mind Flayer using paranormal powers _together_. Watching Will, who was so timid and quiet, stand up to a fucking _demon_, screaming and yelling with tears dripping down his face and blood dribbling from his nose made a mark on everyone, but Hopper especially. He wondered if Joyce was proud of Will for having powers, and then laughed at himself. Of _course_ she would be proud.

Her son helped save the entire world from being destroyed by a psychotic demonic shadow force from another dimension. Everyone should be proud.

When both kids dropped to the floor with exhaustion, Mike rushed toward Will as Hopper ran to El. He missed her so much, missed hearing her laughter, missed seeing her smile, missed being able to show his daughter how much he loved her. Hopper cradled her and cried, wiping the blood from her nose with a gentle swipe. She looked so much more grown already in the time he had been captured and he hated that he couldn’t be there for her always like he promised.

El’s eyes flickered open and once she was able to focus, her face crumpled into tears and she launched herself into his arms with a sob. “_Dad_,” she cried into his neck. “Dad, you’re alive.”

Hopper couldn’t speak but he really tried to. All he could say was, “Yeah,” as they both cried in each other’s arms and took in the sweet relief brought by surviving a situation meant for death.

Things were easy afterwards. The Byers moved back and even though Joyce knew being here came with a lot of troubles, she couldn’t take splitting the Party or being separated from the life here. Hopper took her on that dinner, and in a few months time he was basically living with the Byers. Will and El had turned out to be the best of friends and tight knit siblings who would spend breakfast trying to see who could make Hopper’s pancakes float the longest.

Will always won that one, no thanks to Hopper teasing El until she lost concentration and started laughing.

Everything was a little too perfect so when Will gathered the family at dinner with nervousness in his eyes, Hopper knew some not-great news had to be coming down the pipeline.

“I need to tell you guys something,” he started hesitantly.

Hopper stiffened in his seat. “Don’t tell me you got some girl pregnant, Byers.”

Will, who Hopper had caught sneaking out far too many times, paled and shook his head. “N-no, Hop, that’s definitely not it. Actually, the opposite I guess.”

“You got a _boy_ pregnant?” El blurted with awe in her voice. Will turned bright pink as Jonathan laughed and he quickly shut her down.

“No, no pregnancies. I just—I’m dating someone.” Will wrung his hands and took in a deep breath. “I want you to know I’m still me. I’m still _Will_ no matter who I date.”

“Of course, sweetheart,” started Joyce, “you’re always you and we’ll always love you.”

The young boy’s eyes darted to Hopper before looking down at the ground. “Yeah, but I’m gay.”

Silence consumed the room only interspersed by the sound of Will’s heavy breathing. Joyce had a hand to her mouth but from the angle Hopper was at beside her, he could tell she was covering up a smile. El blinked twice, looked between Will and their parents, and then jumped out her seat to give Will a hug.

Will started but then collapsed into the hug as he returned it fiercely. El was smiling with her eyes closed as they pressed their foreheads together. They were obviously talking telepathically, which was so _annoying_, but they didn’t do it often as Will found it far too distressing to feel another voice in his head. The fact that it was happening now only meant El had to say something she wanted no one else to hear.

Hopper was still processing the fact that Will had been sneaking out to see a boy. He wasn’t sure how to feel about it exactly, but he was also unsure how to react positively enough to not seem like he hated Will for it. Will was literally speaking with his _mind_ to his sister, which was far more abnormal than Will having a boyfriend. Still, Hopper couldn’t ignore the initial wave of discomfort that hit him at the fact that Will likes boys.

Jonathan climbed out his seat to join his younger siblings and Joyce turned to Hopper with pride in her smile and happy tears in her eyes. Hopper found it hard to keep feeling discomfort toward Will when Joyce looked at him like that. He let her tug him into a family hug and for a moment, Hopper felt tears sting the back of his eyes as he was once again reminded of the loving family he had become a part of so easily.

It took a month or so for Hopper to truly stop feeling the initial uncomfortable waves of dislike when Will would mention his boyfriend in passing. Mike started coming over more too, which was bothersome as usual. Hopper was over the moon that the damned kid wasn’t playing tonsil hockey with his daughter anymore, but his face was still the most annoying 16-year-old face to look at. Hopper definitely wasn’t keen on coming home from a long shift at the police department only to see Will and Mike playing games on the couch, but he couldn’t ever really stay mad when Will looked so happy to have Mike at his side.

“He’s a good kid, Jim,” Joyce reminded him one day when Hopper went on a small rant about Mike taking Will and El’s time away from him and Joyce. “He wants to spend time with his friends after watching them almost die all those months ago; there’s nothing wrong with that.”

“Maybe if _Mike_ wasn’t his friend, there wouldn’t be a problem.”

“Hopper!” Joyce swatted his arm playfully and he chuckled before taking her hand in his and pulling her in. The vegetables on the stove were probably going to be roasted black but it would be worth the kisses shared between them at the moment.

It turned out that Mike wasn’t really Will’s friend anyway. Well, not _just_ his friend.

“I think it’s time you guys met my boyfriend.” Will said one night right before dinner. El perked excitedly, Jonathan raised a curious eyebrow, and Hopper crossed his arms with narrowed eyes.

“This boyfriend of yours better understand that he’s not free from my wrath just because you’re a boy.”

Will snorted into his cup of milk and then spent a good minute coughing out what he accidentally inhaled. “I think he knows that pretty well.”

Joyce smiled sweetly and reached out to grab Will’s hand. “You should invite him for dinner one night.”

“I kinda already did.” Will looked over at the door and then smiled to himself. “He’ll be here in a minute.”

As if on cue, a knock rapped against the door. Hopper shot up to his feet and stomped his way over to the door, ready to give this kid a talk about how to treat his step-son. Hopper paused at that thought. He always thought of Will as Joyce’s son no matter how close he and Will had gotten, but this was the first time he thought of Will as _his_ son, too. Hopper’s step-son was _Will Byers_; his step-son was gay, telepathic, telekinetic, electrokinetic, could walk between dimensions, and had a boyfriend.

Hopper’s step-son was _so fucking badass_. Yeah, he would definitely fight any boy who dared to break Will’s heart.

He opened the door, looked into shocked brown eyes, and then shut the door. “Will, why is your wretch of a friend here?”

“Mike?” Will rushed to Hopper’s side and yanked the door open. Mike was still standing on the porch but the anxiety in his posture disappeared when he made eye contact with Will. “Hey, you look good tonight.”

Mike was wearing a hoodie over his curled hair along with a pair of black jeans and simple kicks. He pushed a stray curl behind his pierced ear and laughed. “Yeah? Gotta look nice to meet the family, right? You look good, too,” he pointed out, “but you’re you so no surprise there.”

Hopper wanted to melt into the porch floorboards. Will though made things worse when he leaned forward to give Mike a chaste kiss on the cheek. Hopper’s sensibilities came crashing back to Earth with a dizzying speed.

“You’re dating _Michael Wheeler_?” He quickly turned on Mike. “You’re dating _another_ one of my kids? Didn’t you have enough fun being an eyesore next to El?”

“Hopper!” Joyce yelled from back inside. Will was silently laughing behind his hand and Mike sent him a glare.

“I’m not an _eyesore_. You can ask El and Will yourself. No need to be jealous that your kids happen to have good taste.”

Will burst out into giggles and Hopper narrowed his eyes. “They have bad taste if _you’re_ the one they fall for. Will, I need to teach you and your sister how to find a man.”

Mike’s jaw dropped and even El was giggling from the dinner table. Will wheezed and patted Hopper’s arm a couple times before reaching out for his boyfriend’s hand. “Thanks but no thanks, Hop. I’ve got all I could love right here with Mike.”

Mike blushed furiously and the look that passed between him and Will made Hopper’s breath catch in his throat. He had seen it before during the final battle against the Upside Down. In fact, he’d seen it a lot since then but never really made note of it. Now that he knew Mike was with Will and they were, well, in love, he knew what exactly that besotted look was.

It was the same way he’d look at Joyce before he realized how deeply he loved her, after he realized, too. It was the look he received when she realized he loved her and that she loved him back. To see such unashamed and joyous love between Mike and Will almost made Hopper’s reservations about Mike dissipate.

He grabbed Mike’s shoulder and the tall kid turned to him with unamused raised eyebrows. “Watch yourself, Mike.”

Mike nodded twice and motioned for Will to go in before him. The boy turned to face Hopper straight on with a strong and serious look on his face. “I love him, too, you know. He’s important, he’s everything, he’s just _it_ for me.” His brown eyes turned to Will before making contact with Hopper once more. “I know I didn’t make a good impression when I was with El and I’m not here to make a good impression with Will, either. If you don’t like me, that’s fine, but we both love Will and you’re not gonna scare me from doing that.”

Hopper had to say Mike was kinda cool standing up for his love for Will. He had definitely matured since dating El. He almost wished El would have dated this Mike, but he also knew El was far happier not worrying about romantic entanglements. Plus, Mike said Will was it for him. It wouldn’t be fair for El or Mike to be together when Mike fully realized who he loved.

“The only time I’ll scare you is if you hurt him.”

“I’ll beat my own ass if I do, but yeah, you’re welcome to join in.”

Hopper laughed, Mike smiled, and maybe things were perfect all along. At least Hopper could sleep at night with the fact that he lived with the most badass family ever and he loved them with all his old man heart could give.

**Author's Note:**

> hmu @wheelyers


End file.
